Arsenal midfielder Kim Little has been named as the inaugural winner of the Professional Footballers' Association Women's Player of the Year award.

The Scottish international received the award at the prestigious annual ceremony on Sunday night at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

22-year-old Kim was the league's leading scorer with 11 goals as Arsenal retained the FA WSL title last year and she also scored the winning goal in the Continental Cup Final against Birmingham City at Underhill.

This season, she played a vital part in helping the Gunners reach the UEFA Women's Champions League semi finals and scored the winner in their 2-1 F.A.Women's Cup semi final against Liverpool at Anfield on Friday.

Internationally, she scored for Scotland in their Euro 2013 play-off near miss against Spain and now has a record of 28 goals in 81 caps.

Scotland Head Coach Anna Signeul paid tribute to her star midfielder on www.scottishfa.co.uk, saying: "On behalf of everyone at the Scottish FA, I would like to congratulate Kim on this historic award. She is the type of player that any coach would love to have in their team. She is hugely talented, she works hard, and her attitude is fantastic. She is a great role model for young female players in Scotland and beyond.

"It is no surprise to anyone who knows her on or off the pitch that Kim has been recognised in this way by her fellow players. I'm delighted for her."

In all, six players were nominated for the award with Jessica Fishlock in second place and Toni Duggan third. The other nominees were Gemma Davison, Jordan Nobbs and Jodie Taylor.